Breast cancer awareness is for every woman

Thursday

AURORA – A woman, a wife, a mother and a daughter knows "no one is exempt from cancer."

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but women need to be aware of changes to their bodies every day.

Toni Turchi found a lump in 2011, but her doctor dismissed it, maybe because there was no history of cancer among 45 first cousins or because Turchi was a runner and in good health. But Turchi knew something was wrong and four months later demanded an MRI.

Not only was it a rare and aggressive form of cancer but triple-negative breast cancer, the most deadly.

"Twenty-four hours later I was told I had breast cancer in my right breast and it had metastasized to the lymph nodes," Turchi said. "I had the rarest form of breast cancer."

Four days later she was in chemotherapy treatment. Turchi was treated with five months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and 34 doses of radiation.

"The number one thing that women should do every day is a self examination, whether in the shower or lying down," Turchi said. "Feel for lumps, look for spots on the breasts and leaking in the nipples. All signs you can find."

While Turchi went through treatment, she had the support of the community, neighbors, her loving husband, Ray, son Anthony and both parents. Since then her mother has died of lung cancer and her father of colon cancer. Then in 2016 her sister Laurie of Aurora was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ or stage 0 breast cancer. The early detection meant the cancer had not spread beyond her breasts but it was triple-negative like Turchi’s cancer.

"Given this knowledge, my sister opted to take a more aggressive approach and had a double-mastectomy in hopes of eliminating the odds of her diagnose one day becoming invasive," Turchi said. "Early detection saves lives. Thank God, my sister acted on instinct as she could have easily found herself where I am."

While Turchi had the support of family and friends, she realized other women in treatment were going home in taxis to cook meals for their children and work at full-time jobs, she said.

"This diagnosis changed my life and I knew there had to be a reason God placed this challenge before me," Turchi said. "In 2012 following my treatment, I launched the Toni Turchi Foundation; a 501(c)(3) organization for breast cancer."

Turchi established the non-profit to raise money for women who are uninsured and underserved during active treatment of breast cancer. Social workers at the Cleveland Clinic choose recipients for the money that pays for rent, child care, utilities, transportation, meals and whatever they need.

"It’s also a 'thank you' to so many people who have supported me during my [own] sickness and my mission to provide for my sisters-in-cancer that have not been so fortunate," Turchi said.

On Nov.10, the Toni Turchi Foundation will host its first annual No Evidence of Disease (NED) Gala in Cleveland. The deadline to register is Oct. 27. Anyone undergoing breast cancer treatment currently can contact Turchi through her website or email and receive a special rate for the event.

"This gala is going to be massive," Turchi said. "We're hoping to raise awareness and money. I'm extremely grateful for all the support of our sponsorships from local establishments."

In addition, her son, Anthony Turchi, and his neighborhood classmates at Aurora High School, Will Baldwin, Elizabeth Barto, Cooper Bizjak, Ethan Donley, Tyler Freemont, Jacob French, Dante Leone, Isabella Leone and Jack Sovich, will be helping as Toni Turchi Foundation Ambassadors with the live auction and working the night of the 2018 NED Gala.

"Every one of these kids watched me with no hair going through this year-long journey," Turchi said. "I have written letters to their high school and prospective colleges for their community service."

Each year there are approximately 250,000 new cases of breast cancer among women in the U.S., and nearly 2,000 newly diagnosed cases in men, she said. Of those, an estimated 40,500 are expected to lose their battle to this disease. Breast cancer is the leading cancer killer among women worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer death for women in the U.S.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the focus is on remembering those who have lost their lives to cancer and recognizing the survivors, but after treatment there is another phase most patients don't think about, Turchi said. Once someone is diagnosed with cancer, the chances of recurrence are much higher than for someone who never had cancer.

"I never forget I have triple-negative breast cancer and my luck could wear out tomorrow," Turchi said. "I take nothing or no one for granted."

One way to refer to those who were treated and "cured" is No Evidence of Disease, she said.

"Our goal is to help others achieve and maintain NED through the pillars of wellness which are Nutrition, Education and Detachment from stress."

One way to relieve stress is to help financially and that is the goal of her foundation.

For the past five years, Turchi been raising money and awareness for Dr. Vincent Tuohy, an immunologist at Cleveland Clinic’s Learner Research Institute in his quest for a vaccine to prevent triple negative breast cancer. In 2017 Dr. Tuohy’s research received a $6 million grant from the Department of Defense and is now moving forward in clinical trials to test for efficacy in treating recurrence of TNBC.

Turchi’s mission now is to provide some measure of relief to patients during their active treatment of cancer, with a goal to focus on healing.

For more information, go to www.toniturchifoundation.org or email at tturchi@toniturchifoundation.org.

Reporter Laura Freeman can be reached at 330-541-9434 or lfreeman@recordpub.com

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